…and Other Unlikely Places

‘Tough Love Screenwriting’

“Making a living writing movies is a privilege, something that’ll come hard- earned, if at all. Hollywood doesn’t need you, doesn’t give a sh** whether you live or die, and nobody — and I mean NOBODY — is gonna cry if your Tinseltown dreams don’t come true.” Screenwriter John Jarrell (Romeo Must Die) Screenwriter and instructor John Jarrell’s book Tough Love Screenwriting: The Real Deal From A Twenty-Year Pro is not a feel-good read—but screenwriting is a hard business, so this book is meant to toughen you up for the battle. By his own admission, Jarrell is a “less nurturing version of Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket.”

So along with the occasional swipe at soccer moms, hipsters, trophy wives, smartphone spawns, and malnourished Millennials (with a Goodfellas-sized amount of f-bombs), Jarrell offers his screenwriting insights ranging the importance of using notecards to WGA Arbitration. I’ll spend the next week or so pulling some Jarrell quotes that’ll give you a taste of the book, and I hope you find useful in your own writing.

“One of the finest character descriptions I’ve ever seen is found in Tony Gilroy’s The Bourne Identity. It’s of Chris Cooper’s C.I.A. character Chester Conklin — ‘Ivy League Oliver North. Buttoned down. Square jaw.’ How’s that for specific? Eight words tell us everything we need to know — the first four alone putting it in the hall of fame.”
John JarrellTough Love Screenwriting,page 240

P.S. If you’re in L.A. and would like to take a screenwriting class with Jarrell, check out his website howtoscreenplay.com.

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100 percent of the screenwriters who now have agents at one time didn’t have an agent. 100 percent of screenwriters who are now working at one time weren’t working. 100 percent of the screenwriters who have made money at screenwriting at one time time didn’t made a dime.” Michael Hauge Writing Screenplays that Sells page […]